


Broken

by mostlovedgirl



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Angst, F/M, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth Identity Reveal, Genderbend, Genderbent Adrien Agreste, Genderbent Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Genderswap, Heartbreak, Heartbroken Girl, Hurt, Hurt No Comfort, Lycée Graduation, Pining, Tears, Unrequited Love, oblivious boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-31
Updated: 2020-07-31
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:27:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,076
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25623637
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlovedgirl/pseuds/mostlovedgirl
Summary: Marcel Dupain-Cheng just wants to dance with his pretty friend before they go their separate ways. Adeline Agreste just wants this day to be over.
Relationships: Marcel Dupain-Cheng/Adeline Agreste
Comments: 42
Kudos: 88





	1. The Last Night

Marcel Dupain-Cheng was doing his best to tune out the flashing lights, pounding music, and chatter as he searched the crowd in the dark room for any sign of the girl he wanted to dance with. A flash of blonde hair, a whisper of dark blue fabric, the faint scent of orange blossoms—anything. She had to be here somewhere. All of the students from their lycée graduating class were here.

A loud _BOOM_ interrupted his search. All eyes turned to the tall windows on the top floor of the hotel. A bright orange mushroom cloud was blooming next to the Eiffel Tower. 

It was a mark of the Parisians’ indifference to Akuma attacks that the party barely faltered. The fresh graduates would take cover if the danger moved closer; until then, they would enjoy the party.

Marcel ground his teeth as he slipped through a side door out of the ballroom and into an emergency stairwell.

 _One night! Couldn’t Papillon lay off for just one night!_ Vicious thoughts continued to run through his head as he sprinted for the roof.

“Tikki! Spots on!”

He burst through the roof access door and pulled up short. It was lucky he had transformed on the stairs. He wasn’t the only one up here.

A young woman was sitting on the edge of the roof, facing the famous landmark as smoke from the mushroom cloud drifted away on the breeze.

The city lights reflected dimly off the black leather suit clinging to her slumped form. The cat ears perched in her long, blonde hair drooped sadly. She didn’t react as another mushroom cloud lit the night a few blocks from the first blast.

“M’lady?” Chanceux asked.

“Hey, Bug.” Her words were soft. She sniffed. 

The red and black-clad superhero studied the face he knew so well as he sat next to her. Unshed tears glistened in her luminescent green eyes.

She was crying. His lady was crying.

His heart sank and he reached out to pull her into a hug. He was going to hold her, stroke her beautiful waves of soft, golden hair, and whisper comforting words until she told him what happened. Whatever was upsetting her, he would make it right.

A third mushroom cloud rocked the city before he could touch her. The orange light reflected dully off her black mask and highlighted the tear tracks on her face. The distant sounds of buildings creaking and citizens screaming were starting to reach them now.

Lady Noire sucked in a shaky breath, steeling herself as she forced herself to her feet. She pulled her silver baton from its place on her back and extended it to staff length. “Let’s go.” She vaulted off the roof in the direction of the unfolding disaster.

Chanceux stood and unwrapped his yo-yo from his waist. He would get to the bottom of whatever had upset her, but for now, they had a job to do. He snapped out his yo-yo and stepped off the roof, swinging over the rooftops to catch up to his partner.

* * *

The self-proclaimed ‘Firebug’ hadn’t been much of a challenge. Chanceux summoned his Lucky Charm, captured and broke the akumatized object, purified the butterfly, and used his ladybugs to repair the damage. A pretty average Friday.

Lady Noire hadn’t even needed to use her Cataclysm. 

“Pound it.” Chanceux raised his fist. There was no answering fistbump.

“Lady Noire? Hey, Kitty, where’d you go?” He looked around but didn’t see his cat-themed counterpart anywhere. She had been quiet during the fight. Not a single pun or quip. No teasing or flirtatious comments.

His earrings beeped, warning that he only had a few minutes left before he transformed back.

“Arrgh!” He ran his fingers through his short, raven blue hair in frustration. His partner had run out on him and he didn’t have time to go look for her.

Thunder rumbled in the distance. _Uh-oh._ He had to hurry and get back to the graduation party before the rain started falling.

“Be safe, my Lady,” he whispered to the darkness. He released his yo-yo with a flick and let it pull him back to the hotel.

* * *

**_Earlier that evening..._ **

Adeline Agreste was having a miserable day.

She sat on the edge of the roof of _Le Grand Paris_ with her crossed ankles swinging lightly in the air. It technically was not terribly safe to do so while not transformed, but she didn’t care. She was probably getting the chiffon skirt of her sapphire blue dress dirty too. She didn’t care about that either. 

She did care about accidentally dropping a shoe on an unsuspecting pedestrian below, but fortunately, her dyed-to-match blue, strappy stilettos buckled around her ankles so it shouldn’t be a problem.

She watched the sunset in silence. The oranges and pinks were muted by billowing, gray clouds that were starting to roll over the city. It was going to rain tonight.

“Want some?” Plagg offered. He had snatched a large chunk of stinky cheese off the buffet table downstairs.

Adeline smiled weakly at Plagg’s generous offer as she watched the lights on the Eiffel Tower start to glow in the fading daylight. “Thanks, but you go ahead.”

“Are you sure?” her kwami asked with a mouth full of cheese after his first bite. “It might help you feel better.”

“I’m sure.”

Plagg tossed the remaining cheese in the air, caught it in his mouth and swallowed. “Wanna talk?” he offered.

“Not really.”

“Your mom?” he ventured after a pause.

She sighed and let her perfect posture melt away with the released breath. “I wish she could have been here.”

Yet another milestone in her life that her mom was missing. Another milestone her father was choosing to ignore because he prioritized work over family. Even Nathalie, who usually attended these things on her father’s behalf, hadn’t been there. Something about her father needing someone to take notes during an international business call. It was so stupid.

Plagg patted her hair. “I bet bakery boy could make you feel better.” Adeline didn’t have to look at her kwami to know his face was split in an evil-looking grin. The little gremlin had been teasing her about her unrequited crush for the last four years.

The blonde gave a very unladylike snort. “Please. He would just give me a hug and remind me one more time how I’m ‘such a great friend.’ I swear, I could punch him right in his stupid, handsome face.”

Plagg cackled at her threat. “Ooh. Can I watch? That would be hilarious.”

Adeline pulled her legs up to her chest, rested her crossed her arms on her knees, and half-buried her face behind her slim forearms, glaring at the skyline. “At least he would remember me every time he saw the bruise on his jaw. Serves him right,” she grumbled. 

She had waited and waited for the bakers’ son to wake up to the fact that the literal supermodel with perfect grades sitting behind him in class was head over heels in love with him. It never happened.

“Hey, kid, you okay?” Plagg asked gently, pulling her from her thoughts.

“Why?” A soft breeze ruffled her hair. The air cooled something on her face. She touched the cold spots on her cheeks and her fingers came away wet. She had started crying. Startled, she uncurled and twisted to face the black kwami.

Plagg’s whole demeanor drooped like a tired rag doll when he saw the look on her face. “For what it’s worth, you’re one of my favorite kittens.” He dove toward her face and hugged her cheek, rubbing his nose on her soft skin.” Your dad is a jerk and bread boy is an idiot for not recognizing how great you are.”

Adeline cupped her hands around his little body and held him as the tears continued to slip from her closed eyes. “Thank you, Plagg,” she whispered.

She didn’t know how long they sat like that. The sky darkened to full night. The city blazed with lights below them.

Her tears were coming in gentle waves. She would think they had subsided, then she would think about her mother or Marcel or the fact that all of her friends were leaving for university or jobs, and she would start silently crying all over again.

“It’s getting cold,” Plagg eventually remarked. “You need to go inside.”

“Okay. Just… give me a few minutes.”

Plagg sighed. “Transform.”

“What?” 

Plagg hated transforming if he could help it.

“It will keep you warm,” he said softly. He backed away from where he had been snuggled against her face and jabbed a paw at her nose. “But this is a one-time offer! Got it?” 

She tried to give him a lopsided smile, but failed. “Thank you, Plagg. Claws out.”

* * *

Adeline distantly heard a bang followed by a crash. A fire plume erupted near the Eiffel Tower.

A door creaked opened and closed behind her. Quiet footsteps padded nearer. She was so emotionally drained she couldn’t react. She just wanted to sleep and pretend she was cared for and loved; preferably with a certain chronically oblivious boy’s arms wrapped around her protectively...

A second plume sprang up. She didn’t have the energy to deal with it right now.

“M’lady?” A voice she knew well penetrated her reverie.

“Hey, Bug.” Her tears had finally stopped flowing, leaving her feeling drained. 

Another explosion lit up the night. Her brain slowly started processing the situation. There must be an Akuma out there. Buildings were threatening to crumble. She imagined the chaos as citizens ran for cover or prayed that their loved ones were safe. Not that she had anyone in her life who worried for her safety like that. Well, Alya did, but her best friend was probably hidden away in a dark corner with Nino right now—safely tucked away from danger instead of running toward it for once. 

Lady Noire couldn’t afford such luxuries. She had a partner who needed someone to watch his back.

She took a breath to refocus herself, suppressing her feelings. She could feel sorry for herself all night afterwards. The teenage hero forced herself to her feet with feline grace and squared her shoulders, pulling her trusty baton from its place on the small of her back. 

“Let’s go.”

She launched herself into the night, her partner not far behind.

* * *

Lady Noire was furious.

First Papillon had messed with her graduation night and interrupted her pity party on the roof.

Then she had pushed Chanceux out of the line of fire only to take the hit herself. The Akuma had knocked her through three buildings and left her so dazed that by the time she had gotten back on her feet and returned to the battle, her partner was already wrapping things up.

The victim was back to normal, wondering what had happened. A swarm of magical, red glowing bugs was sweeping through the arrondissement repairing the resulting damage. All was well and she had contributed exactly _nothing_.

It was like _he_ didn’t even need her anymore. 

Her incompetence was the last straw, and her self-pity evolved into anger. Papillon was going to _pay,_ she would make sure of it.

She hadn’t used her Cataclysm during the battle. She still had time before she lost her transformation.

Lady Noire’s pupils contracted to slits as she honed in on the retreating white butterfly. It wasn’t going to get away from her this time. 

She extended her baton, vaulting after the fluttering creature and running as fast as she could across the rooftops on all fours, keeping pace with the wretched insect. If she had stopped to think about it, she would have realized what a miracle it was that another purple butterfly hadn’t targeted her yet that evening. 

The small, white wings led her to a very familiar part of the city. This was her block. That was her house. Was Papillon this close? Lady Noire tracked the butterfly to the Agreste mansion before she lost sight of it. 

Cursing under her breath, she landed on her roof and scanned the area. Her cat ears picked out the faint sound of servos nearby, like something mechanical moving. She glanced down and barely caught a movement on the side of the house in her peripheral vision. _What was that?_ Had the accursed butterfly gone inside her house?

A clap of thunder rumbled in the distance. Lady Noire’s head snapped up to the approaching storm clouds. A small section in the back of her brain informed her that it wasn’t the first roll of thunder her subconscious had cataloged that night. She had been too focused on her quarry to pay attention. 

She also realized that Chanceux wasn’t with her. That was okay. His transformation had been spent, anyway. She thought about sending him a message from her baton’s phone feature to let him know where she was, but dismissed it. The odds of him transforming again and receiving the message tonight were minuscule. 

She tucked her baton away in its place on her back, and let herself in her bedroom window with practiced ease. Instead of dropping her transformation once inside like she normally did, she crept to her door and listened, trusting her feline senses to pick up any hints of Nathalie or her father in the hall. They would be the only ones here this late. The staff had all gone home by now and her bodyguard was waiting at the hotel to be summoned before driving her home from the party.

Easing the door open, she slipped into the hall, relying on her night vision and sharp hearing to alert her to any danger. She sniffed the air. Nothing. Visualizing where the suspicious window would be on the map in her mind, she started toward her father’s atelier.

A light tapping rapped against the windows as the rain started to fall. The storm was coming.

Lady Noire slunk into her father’s empty office. She had snooped around here with Plagg once but hadn’t been transformed at the time. She wondered if her enhanced senses could find something she had missed before. Nothing was obvious. 

She was studying the painting of her mother, trying to find the hidden catch that revealed the wall safe behind the artwork, when one of her cat ears flicked at the faint sound of voices and a barely audible whine of something mechanical. 

Moving purely on instinct, she dove behind her father’s standing desk and rolled under the ledge of cushioned seats surrounding the catwalk platform rising from the sunken section of the floor in the middle of the room. She only hoped that the storm and the darkness of the room would keep her hidden (and that neither her blonde hair nor green eyeshine would give her away). 

This was a mistake. She should have waited until she was home alone. Adeline sneaking around her house she could explain—even though technically she was banned from this room unless summoned. 

Maybe she could jump out the window, hightail it back to the hotel, rejoin her classmates at the party, dance the night away, and come back in a few hours with her Gorilla escort. That would work, right?

She just needed to act sufficiently surprised when she saw a Lady Noire-shaped hole in the window when she returned. She could even pretend to fall asleep on the ride home and not see it at all. She could practice saying, “What happened, Nathalie?” in a mirror in the morning until it came out natural and innocent-sounding.

No need to blow her cover when standing on the brink of adulthood and its, hopefully, associated freedoms. 

Her runaway train of thoughts screeched to a halt when the mechanical whine was joined by a smooth whoosh, like an electrically operated door opening. The voices were no longer muffled.

“—foiled again! What will it take to get those miraculouses!”

Was that her father’s voice? Was he talking about _miraculouses?_ Had she heard him right?

“Patience, sir.” Another voice joined the first. Nathalie. Of course it was Nathalie. She never left her father’s side. She knew everything, would do anything for her father. 

“I have been patient for _five years_!” He took a calming breath. “What’s a few more, I suppose.”

Adeline silently stood from her hiding place. They didn’t notice her. Her father was walking slowly to the door. Ever faithful Nathalie was at her place at his shoulder. She was giving the man a sympathetic smile, her hand placed supportively, almost lovingly, on his arm.

“Father,” Adeline heard herself say calmly. She felt like someone else was using her voice to form words. “What are you doing?”

The pair started and whipped around, springing apart to a distance respectful of their positions as employer and assistant. 

“Lady Noire!” Gabriel cried, a mix of fury and triumph in his tone. His hand reached for the ascot at his throat. 

Everything happened at once. 

“Nooroo, dark wi—“

“Sir! No!” Nathalie made a grab for him.

“Cataclysm!” 

Black particles swirled around Lady Noire’s right hand. She sank her claws into the tiles at her feet and the floor disintegrated.


	2. The Rain Came Pouring Down

Adeline didn’t know why she had done it. Maybe she was hoping to ensnare her father in a few feet of rubble, hold him still long enough to get some answers. Maybe her subconscious had picked up on a threat and provided her best option to counter it. Maybe she had simply panicked and resorted to her destructive powers out of desperation. (If she was being honest with herself, the last one was probably nearest the truth.)

There was nothing under the house but the foundation, or so she had thought.

Her body slammed painfully onto a metal gangway, her suit absorbing most of the impact. She groaned and lifted her head. 

She was in some kind of underground atrium. It looked like the inside of a cathedral. Large pieces of concrete, tile, and glass had fallen everywhere through the gaping hole in the ceiling. 

It was quiet. Dirt shifted and fell from the foundation of the house into the chamber. Despite being underground, the space smelled fresh and clean with an undercurrent of lilies, not musty like she would have expected.

And there were butterflies. Hundreds of white butterflies fluttered around the room.

Nathalie had somehow managed to not fall through the hole during the destruction. Her face was cut and she was covered in dust. For once, her hair was out of place and she looked disheveled. She knelt at the edge of the opening on her hands and knees, silently watching the scene below with horror. 

Unconscious or dazed, Gabriel lay unmoving on his back among the rubble near the far end of the room. A large, covered window loomed behind him. Its pattern mimicked that of the window on the outside of the house that she had been trying to investigate.

Some of the dim lights along the walls had been knocked out. One buzzed as it flickered. There was still enough illumination for Lady Noire to see everything with her night vision. 

She slowly got to her feet, assessing herself for damage. No broken bones or dislocated joints. Not even a headache. Plagg was getting two whole wheels of camembert for protecting her so well after this. 

Dust fell from her hair, causing her to blink instinctually. Her mask shielded her eyes from debris, but it didn’t protect her nose or mouth. The dry, gagging feeling in the back of her throat forced her to cough as she started picking her way across the room toward her father, unsure what she was going to do when she reached him. 

A small, lavender form appeared next to Gabriel’s still body. It floated in midair just like Plagg. Just like a kwami. 

“Lady Noire!” a tiny voice piped up desperately. “Please, take the butterfly miraculous before he wakes. Quickly!”

The little creature was talking. He was so small and obviously frightened. He trembled like a dog that had been kicked too many times.

Kwami. Butterfly miraculous. 

Lady Noire approached and looked down at the broken man before her. His eyes were closed. He was still breathing. He was covered in dirt. His left leg was bent at an unnatural angle. Blood oozed from a gash on his temple. His glasses were askew. His back was arched over whatever he had landed on. 

At the base of his throat was a small purple brooch. She numbly reached over and plucked up the little pin. The lavender creature gasped like he had been holding his breath. 

Lady Noire stared at the gem in her palm. Had this little thing been the source of all their problems? This purple stone had terrorized her city, turning its citizens into monsters, and pushing her and her partner to the brink of their abilities? This was it? 

Her gaping was interrupted by a groan. She quickly stowed the miraculous in her pocket and zipped it closed for safekeeping. She would deal with it later.

The man before her groaned again as he tried to sit up. He hissed in pain with the attempt, tears coming to his eyes. He blinked a few times then looked around, taking in the destruction. His eyes finally seemed to focus on the young woman in the black catsuit standing before him. 

“You!” The exclamation seethed with anger, frustration, and pain. “What have you done?!” His focus shifted when he noticed what he was lying on.

“No. No, no, no, no, _no!_ _Emilie!_ ” The man scrambled to move, crying out in pain as he shifted his broken leg. “Emilie! Emilie!” He managed to get down and started shifting the rubble that had broken his fall. 

Noire took a step back. She watched silently as the man desperately shoving aside rock, dirt and glass, never mind that his hands were cut and bleeding. He kept pushing away debris, always saying that name.

_Emilie… Emilie…_

That was her mother’s name. Her mother had disappeared years ago. Why was this person saying her name over and over again?

The man shouldered a large piece of cement away to reveal a face. 

She was sleeping. Peaceful. Beautiful.

Her features were delicate. A heart-shaped face, pale skin, large eyes. All framed by golden blonde hair. It looked so similar to Adeline’s face.

The glass canopy shielding the woman was streaked with dirt and blood.

The man was checking some sort of panel. Orange lights flashed at its base.

Adeline continued to stand there. Mute. She witnessed what was unfolding before her, but none of it sank in. She didn’t feel anything. There was a nudge on her shoulder. She looked at the source dumbly. 

“Lady Noire,” the lavender creature prodded in a tiny whisper. “Your ring. You’re about to transform back.” His tone was urgent.

“Nooroo! Come here!” the man bellowed.

“No! You are not my master anymore! Lady Noire, let’s go.” 

The insistent beeping managed to breakthrough Adeline’s consciousness. She didn’t understand what was causing it, but she knew what it meant— _danger, hide, don’t be seen_. Lady Noire grabbed her baton from her back and vaulted through the hole in the ceiling. The lavender Kwami managed to stay on her shoulder.

“Adeline!” Nathalie’s call barely registered as the superhero ran out the front door of the mansion into the downpouring rain. 

She needed someplace safe and warm where she could recharge.

Extending her baton again she launched herself over the walls surrounding the mansion and onto the rooftops. She ran and lept, not really knowing where she was going. She landed on a balcony and peered into a skylight.

No one was in the bedroom below. The tidy bed directly below the skylight was made with a blue blanket and white pillows. She couldn’t detect any lights or sounds in the apartment. The occupants must have gone out for the night. Lucky her. 

She slipped through the trap door onto the mattress as her transformation dropped. Exhausted, Plagg collapsed on a pillow beside her.

Adeline curled up in the fetal position, her soaked hair dripping rainwater onto the bedding. The blue cocktail dress and strappy stilettos she had donned hours earlier for the commencement ceremony and Chloe’s after-party were dry. She had picked this color because it reminded her of _his_ eyes.

His scent swirled around her. A thought that had been snaking its way through her subconscious finally broke through her numb mind. She was curled up on Marcel’s bed. She was lying on his bed and he wasn’t here. He was across town where she should be—with him.

Then it all came crashing down. 

Graduation. Marcel. Akuma. Chanceux. Her father. Papillon.

Her father was Papillon.

Nathalie. Nathalie knew. She was in on it.

A beautiful woman in a glass coffin. Her mother laying in that glass coffin.

Everything she couldn’t process that evening filled her until there was no place for it to go. Her emotions forced themselves out of her body, tearing through her chest with gut-wrenching sobs. She felt sick. She had a headache. She couldn’t stop. Her breath came in great, ragged gasps between sobs. 

Plagg snuggled against her neck and Nooroo kept silent watch until her tears ran dry.

Finally, exhausted, Adeline drifted off into an uneasy sleep. She clutched at Marcel’s blankets, grasping them like a lifeline while her heart shattered under the weight of her collapsing world. 

* * *

**_Earlier that night..._ **

Chanceux swung back onto the roof of _Le Grand Paris_. He landed with a final flip and called off his transformation.

“Are you okay, Marcel?” Tikki asked in her squeaky little voice. She perched on his shoulder and studied the young man’s face.

“I’m okay.” He rubbed his companion’s small head with a finger. “I’m just worried about Lady Noire. Do you think she’s alright? She took a bad hit during the fight. She didn’t even stick around for our fist bump. And why had she been crying up here of all places?”

Tikki placed a paw on his cheek. “I don’t know, but I’m sure she’ll be fine. She’s strong, and Plagg cares about her more than he lets on.”

Marcel sighed. “Yeah. You’re right. I should just go back to the party and try to enjoy tonight.”

“That’s the spirit!” Tikki chirped cheerfully. “Maybe we can stop by the buffet and pick up some cookies, too.”

Marcel chuckled lightly as he crossed the roof to the access door. “I’m sure we can find you something.”

Marcel ducked back into the ballroom as discreetly as he could and was soon greeted by several of his friends. Nino had taken over the DJ station and the room was a mass of bodies moving to the beat.

He edged around the room to the buffet tables and snuck a few cookies into the suit jacket pocket where Tikki was hiding.

“Marcel!” Alya waved as she bounded over to him. “Come dance with me. I’m not going to be able to get my boyfriend away from the turntables for the rest of the night.” She jabbed her thumb at Nino and rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

“Sure thing.” He didn’t mind. He, Nino, Alya, and Adeline had been good friends for a long time. They were like the siblings he never had.

The song ended and Nino switched over to a slower melody to give the crowd a break before jumping back on the club tracks.

“Hey, have you seen Adeline anywhere?” he asked the auburn-haired girl as they turned in a slow dance.

Alya shook her head. “She disappeared about five minutes after we got here. I think she went home.” She looked around the room anyway like she was hoping her best friend would suddenly appear.

“Usually she jumps on any excuse to get out of that mansion. I hope she’s okay.”

“Me too,” Alya agreed glumly. “Why do you ask?”

“Oh, I was just hoping to ask her for a dance,” Marcel shrugged.

“Really?” Alya smirked. She stretched the word out in a suggestive manner.

Marcel’s face twisted in confusion. “What?” 

“Are you crushing on my girl?” Alya teased.

“On Adeline? No, no, I was just thinking that this is probably the last chance I’ll have to dance with her. We’ve all been friends for so long. I thought it would be a nice way to finish off our school days.”

“Oh, Cupcake,” Alya sighed and shook her head.

 _“What?”_ He emphasized the word with a little laugh. He had no idea what she was getting at.

“Nothing.” She patted the shoulder her left hand was resting on. “You’re just too pure. Never change, okay?”

“Uh, I have no idea what you are talking about, but sure. Whatever you say.”

The slow song ended and Nino had the crowd jumping again.

After a few more songs, Marcel ducked into an unlocked closet in the hall to transform away from prying eyes. He checked the tracking app on his yo-yo, but there was no sign of his partner. She must have transformed back. He sighed and dropped his transformation again. 

Tikki peeked sympathetically up at him from his pocket. “I hope she’s okay, too,” the little sprite offered.

“Thanks, Tikki.” Appreciating the gesture, he rubbed her head with a finger before exiting the closet to rejoin the party. 

* * *

Marcel made it home about three in the morning. He was exhausted. The ceremony, party, and akuma attack had all added up to a long day. 

He stumbled up the stairs to his bedroom as quietly as he could, so as to not wake his parents.

He shrugged out of his suit and into a pair of pajamas while his thoughts sluggishly bounced between Adeline and Lady Noire. He had been worrying about them all night with no reassurance in sight. 

His brain was turning to mush, he was so tired. Tikki was already asleep on the shelf above his bed.

Marcel staggered up the ladder to the loft and collapsed face-first on his bed with a _wumph_. He immediately popped up, propping his weight on his forearms, decidedly more awake than he had been a second ago. 

He ran his finger around the edge of the skylight, inspecting it for leaks. Dry. It was shut properly and there were no discernible trails of water.

So why was his pillow damp?

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Pieces](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27792496) by [mostlovedgirl](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mostlovedgirl/pseuds/mostlovedgirl)




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